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 | | Chardin by Pierre Rosenberg ISBN-10: 0300083483 ISBN-10: 0-300-08348-3 ISBN-13: 9780300083484 ISBN-13: 978-0-300-08348-4 Hardcover 2000-05 Yale University Press Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Amazon.com Pierre Rosenberg, the Chardin scholar and President-Director of the Musée du Louvre, had one overriding goal in mind when assembling the exhibition of which Chardin is the catalog: "to present the artist's finest paintings, the most perfect, the most harmonious, the paintings that leave nothing to be desired." The 99 paintings reproduced in this book are a testimony to the success of that endeavor. There are also six essays by Chardin experts and an extensively researched chronology. Chardin's still lifes and genre scenes have been deeply appreciated for centuries for what Rosenberg calls "the grave, silent quality that encourages the onlooker to silent reverie." He is incapable of untruth: his subjects--jugs and bowls, glasses, cherries, housemaids, boys at play, dogs and cats--are painted without a touch of irony, embellishment, or drama. It is painful to report that this volume is extremely disappointing visually, with plates that are either poorly reproduced or reproduced from poor transparencies and are slightly greenish or washed out. Except for details, which do show Chardin's close harmonies and painterly touch, the pictures look flat and dull. Art historians, of course, will see the paintings in the flesh and use this book as only an aide-memoire, but for ordinary, nonprofessional art lovers, the 20-year-old catalog of the great 1979 Chardin exhibition gives a far better sense of the quiet perfection of this subtle artist. Even a pocket book from Abrams' Discoveries series, Chardin: An Intimate Art, by Helene Prigent and Pierre Rosenberg, is far superior. Although its reproductions are minuscule by comparison, they are at least clear and clean, with colors that appear to be close to those of the original works. The little book may be only an hors d'oeuvre, but it has all the flavor that is missing in the full-course meal. --Peggy Moorman | ||
Book Description Jean Simeon Chardin (1699-1779) started his career with a great interest in still life, a subject held in particularly low regard by the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. According to the Academy, the most important paintings contained human figures (most highly ranked were mythological or historical subjects) and paintings with no human figures were at the bottom of the hierarchy. As the Academy exerted an enormous influence, truly making or breaking an artist's career. Aware of this hierarchy, Chardin began including figures in his work in about 1730, mainly women and children. These scenes of domestic interiors were unprecedented because Chardin gave them a greater intensity and intimacy than the usual lighthearted depiction of everyday life. Chardin's technique also set him apart from his contemporaries, as he did not prepare for a painting by doing many drawings or studies, but rather started right on the canvas itself. Diderot once called Chardin the 'great magician' because of the way he united color, composition and subject. With 100 colour illustrations of Chardin's work and six essays by leading experts in the field, the book will discuss his biography, his use of ceramics and glass and the complex history of engravings of his paintings. | ||
Reviews | ||
So beautiful! Bought this primarily for the color photos of Chardin's work. If you like traditional still life paintings, you'll love this. | ||
additional information to editorial above I just wanted to add this to the review above: the 1979 catalog can still be found quite easily, but it contains mostly black and white reproductions of the works. There are only 23 colour images of the more than 400 pages in the 1979 book. The 2000 catalog is almost entirely in colour... However, I cannot properly judge the quality of the reproductions in the latter, as I have not seen one of those amazing paintings in reality yet. | ||
A very satisfying book I have to disagree with the above editorial. I compared the reproductions with others that I have, and although there are sometimes subtle differences they are not always to the disadvantage of this book. Some pictures are better than others, but the advantage here is that each reproduction is on a page by itself with commentary on an adjoining page-a catalogue layout that I always prefer in that it give the painting room to breathe and because I'm not reading on one page and finding the relevant painting six pages later. The book is obviously done by true lovers of the painter. Chardin is profound and a painter's painter. You can see and feel why he was adored by Cezanne, Soutine, Manet, Proust, and I'm sure many other significant artists. He has rightly been called a virtuoso of stillness. Even in reproduction, pieces of fruit, kitchenware and game animals are alive and quietly glowing from within with a warmth, compassion and a kind of subtle majesty-it's really deep in an indescribable way. In my opinion a very worthwhile purchase. | ||
Beautiful! This book is simply gorgeous. I had been well acquainted with Chardin a number of years ago, and picked up this book on a whim at the store. Rediscovering this master was a true delight. His paintings are deceptively simple: behind the cool colors and the measured scenes lies a captivating energy. This particular volume is very well done. The reproductions are of superior quality and the accompanying essays by the world's most renowned Chardin expert are enjoyable and enlightening. Art books are expensive, but this is one that is well worth the investment. | ||